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Big dreams net three a trip to U.S. Open for the Toro Championship Tournament Training Program

Knowing where they want to be
in ten years netted three Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA)
members slots on the maintenance team at the U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country
Club in Tulsa, Okla., as part of the Toro Championship Tournament Training
Program.

Dan Tolson, a junior at
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Co., is the only student member
selected for the program. After being raised on a golf course as the son of a
superintendent, he's actively preparing for his own career. Each applicant
submitted an essay on where they see themselves professionally, in the next 10
years and what they hope to accomplish during that time. Tolson explains his
goal, "I plan to be a certified golf course superintendent devoted to
enhancing the game of golf by not forgetting two simple concepts. Keeping up
with new technologies and finding new ways to improve the environment through
golf courses."

Two assistant superintendents
will be participating in the program as well. Brian K. Pardoe, Bethesda Country
Club, Bethesda, Md., and Brian Thompson, Elcona Country Club, Bristol, Ind.

Pardoe, first assistant on
Mark Kingora's staff, looks forward to the eventual opportunities as a
superintendent and dreams of one day managing a grow in course. "To witness
and manage the exchange of rough land into a majestic co-existence with the
environment and the game of golf has always been a passion of mine," Pardoe
says. "Ultimately, I want to know that I have done everything for the best
of the profession, the club, the staff, the environment and the game of
golf."

Thompson assists
superintendent Tom Zimmerman at Elcona CC. His vision of the future reflects on
the superintendent's key responsibilities especially with the general public.
"Today's superintendents have the opportunity to reveal to the general
public the importance of their field," Thompson says. "Striving for
the most perfect playing surfaces attainable, displaying a thirst for technical
knowledge, and maintaining a positive outlook are all ways today's
superintendents can create a lasting impression on the general public."

The winners will join John A. Szklinski, golf
course superintendent at Southern Hills CC, alongside members of the maintenance
staff detailing the course before each round.

The Toro
Company established the Toro Championship Tournament Training Program in
partnership with the GCSAA to provide an opportunity for assistant
superintendents and student members to learn what happens at the highest level
of golf course management. Visit
GCSAA online at www.GCSAA.org or www.GolfSuper.com.